The SANCTUARY Model 

Taking a Leaf From Your Enemy


I am writing this from the bowels of a "Sanctuary County" in Northern
Virginia (we capitalize Northern here to emphasize our separateness and
animosity toward the rest of Virginia where guns are encouraged, tax rate
hikes are opposed and rural cultural and social values prevail).  Illegal
aliens are welcomed and encouraged here.  Besides the growing gang culture
and increasing crime rate two illegal aliens recently kidnapped two girls
and tried to transport them to Mexico for reputed sale as prostitutes.  What
could possibly be next?

I have relatives living in a nearby " Sanctuary City " where even their
politically appointed Police Chief recently "asked for more authority when
dealing with illegal aliens convicted of certain crimes, despite the city
recently reaffirming a long standing policy of non-cooperation with federal
immigration officials". In response the City Attorney "told the City Council
the sanctuary policy 'is a valid law' that is not superceded by state or
federal statute".  She went on that "officers must adhere to the policy,
even if the database reveals that a convicted criminal is also an illegal
alien".

If "Sanctuary" "policy" is "long standing": it must be legal.  If a "City
Attorney" calls it "valid law": who could question it?  If increased gang
crime and even kidnapping of young women to make them prostitutes (with the
exception of murder, what could be worse?) doesn't raise even a murmur about
this "Sanctuary" business, what could?  If County and City governments can
make such declarations and then assure that all of their employees honor
them or be fired without censure of State governments or Federal
bureaucracies or the Courts or even our busy politicians; what could
possibly be questionable about this approach.

Now Northern Virginia and the nearby " Sanctuary City " are truly hotbeds of
"progressive" laws.  They love bigger government, they advocate ever-higher
taxes for things like roads and then spend them for "bike trails" and
"flowers".  They work hard to impose their views on others, be that the
County in which the City lies or the State in which the County lies.  Like
the recent conquest of the State Legislatures in Illinois by Chicago , or
Massachusetts by Boston , or California by San Francisco and Los Angeles ;
they impose their values and notions about everything from guns and parental
non-authority to sexual mores and transportation.  In short they are the
originators and supporters of the "policies" and laws that have been
destroying our nation for over three decades.

Oh, I forgot to mention how such "progressive centers" are also the "native
soil" (see Bram Stoker) of the environmental and animal rights movement.
Think about that for a second.  On the one hand they tell Federal
Immigration authorities to stick the Federal laws where the sun doesn't
shine and where they will do them more good: on the other hand they send out
the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Department of Agriculture and
the US Forest Service and the National Park Service to impose their
draconian environmental and animal rights imaginings on the rural residents.
Jail them for defending their dog from a wolf, arrest them for dumping (even
though the Federals dump far more in the Potomac), fine them for building on
their property after they were "told" not to, arrest the cockfighters, jail
the dog breeder, close the roads, strangle the rural communities,
indoctrinate the children in school, and on and on.

So "the" answer is clear.  Every rural County should declare itself an
"Environmental and Animal Sanctuary".  All County employees should be
instructed that under NO CIRCUMSTANCE are they to cooperate with any Federal
OR State enforcement of any environmental or animal associated laws,
regulations, or policies.  While we are at it, in those states not under the
Legislative "Thumb" of urban elites, a State Declaration of the State being
an "Environmental and Animal Sanctuary" should be sought. Every City and
Township should similarly proclaim their selve to be locations of
"Sanctuary" regarding the environmental and animal laws, regulations, and
policies with which they disagree. If your politicians won't pass this,
REPLACE THEM and elect politicians that will.  Sounds good to me.

Now while you are smirking (some may even be smiling and one or two
laughing): be assured this is no spoof.  It is a perfectly serious proposal.
If these urban elites can decimate our values and freedoms with such
impunity but then exempt themselves (like ancient and current despots and
dictators and their cronies have always done): then I say take a leaf from
their playbook and "turnabout is fair play".

If we don't try this, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.  When no
one supported the lawsuit to make the US Army Corps of Engineers stop their
massive pollution of the Potomac River and the spawning beds of the
Endangered Shortnose sturgeon, the government delayed and obfuscated and six
years later the pollution continues and there is no end in sight.  When my
"newest" US Senator and an aide put a loaded gun through the metal detector
ON CAPITOL HILL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (is there any more "GUN-FREE"
location in the United States?) they were simply given the gun back and let
go on their way. Care to bet where you or I would be right now if we were to
have done the same thing?

How do you stop what is happening to rural America and our Constitutional
rights?  If Senators can skate out of draconian and un-Constitutional gun
laws imposed on the rest of us: what incentive do they have to fight for us?
If an alphabet soup of government agencies (EPA, USACoE, FWS, NPS, NMFS, DC
Fisheries, MD DNR, VA G&IF, etc.) can knowingly condone and enable the
massive pollution of the Potomac and the contamination of the spawning
grounds of Endangered Species FOR DECADES: who will advocate and describe
the needed reforms of the injustices and abuses of Federal environmental and
animal rights laws?

So, I say "SANCTUARY" at the State and County and City level.  Otherwise we
are like that real spoof in one of those Indiana Jones" movies where Indiana
shoots the big guy with the big sword with the observation that you shouldn't
bring "a knife to a gunfight".

Jim Beers
26 July 2007 

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- Jim Beers is a retired US Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Biologist,
Special Agent, Refuge Manager, Wetlands Biologist, and Congressional Fellow.
He was stationed in North Dakota , Minnesota , Nebraska , New York City , and
Washington DC .  He also served as a US Navy Line Officer in the western
Pacific and on Adak , Alaska in the Aleutian Islands .  He has worked for the
Utah Fish & Game, Minneapolis Police Department, and as a Security
Supervisor in Washington , DC .  He testified three times before Congress;
twice regarding the theft by the US Fish & Wildlife Service of $45 to 60
Million from State fish and wildlife funds and once in opposition to
expanding Federal Invasive Species authority.  He resides in Centreville ,
Virginia with his wife of many decades.